Sweetness
by Charra Loon
Summary: Things don't go as planned for Hanzo and Mei's first Valentine's Day, but sometimes that's not a bad thing. Hanmei week prompt: hot chocolate


It was the Lovers' Festival, also known as Valentine's Day in the west, and Mei was excited. This would be her first one with a boyfriend and she wanted everything to be perfect, or at least close to it. She decided it would be simple, an intimate dinner, just her and her dragon, some tea...it would be great. Hanzo was on a mission right now, but he would be back in time for dinner, circumstances notwithstanding. That gave her time to set everything up-dinner was in the oven, the tea would be boiling and the pair of chocolate truffles she got for him were all ready. What could go wrong?

An emergency alarm answered that question.

Mei rushed out-there was a last minute payload coming into Gilbraltar and they needed help bringing it in. They were able to get the payload after some difficulty, and Mei rushed back to the kitchen while the others unloaded the payload. When she got back, however, things were a mess-smoke had filled the kitchen and the water she had boiling for the tea boiled over, so she had to rush to replace that. By the time Hanzo had gotten back from the mission, he saw Mei trying to salvage what was left of the now-burnt dinner and something was heating in a pot.

"Mei?" Hanzo asked, slowly coming in. "Is everything all right?"

"Hanzo!" Mei cried. "I did not expect you back so soon."

"Things went smoother than anticipated. I think your pot is about to boil over."

"Oh no, not again!" Mei rushed to the pot; the good news was it didn't boil over. The bad news was in her rush to replace the water that had boiled over, she had poured milk by mistake. "Ay ya! I'm sorry, Hanzo, it was chaotic in the base, we had a last minute payload to receive and I was only gone for a little while..."

"It is all right. The warm milk will do us some good, or so I am told. Come, you get the milk and I will see what to do about dinner."

"Well...all right, if you're sure." Mei just nodded and poured the warm milk in the cups while Hanzo looked for something to prepare quickly. "I really wanted this year to be special for us."

"It is special, Mei. It is our first Valentine's as a couple, for both of us." Mei nodded, he did have a point; for her there had been no one until she met Hanzo, and vice versa. He once said that settling into an arrangement-into marriage-was the one duty he neglected as heir to his clan. "Are burgers all right? There is some ground meat left in here."

"That'd be fine."

"Then we dine like Westerners." Mei giggled at that. Sure, the day started out as a bit of a disaster, but in the end, things seemed to work out.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Mei said after dinner. She reached for the box with the truffles. "For you!" Hanzo looked at the box, noted it was gold colored.

"Mei...you got me British chocolates?" Mei gaped at him.

"These are from Belgium!"

"And yet the brand is named after a British noblewoman who chose to settle an argument with her husband by riding through their village on horseback, naked." Mei was about to say something else when she caught the gleam in Hanzo's eye. He was teasing her now, something that was becoming more frequent lately.

"Oh, you!" She said, moving her hand. This caused the box to fling outward, the side opening on its own and the pair of chocolate truffles plopped into the warm milk. "Oh no..." But Hanzo just smiled, and stirred the cup the truffles fell into until they melted and merged.

"See? Hot chocolate." He said, and Mei had to smile at that. Nothing went as planned, they knew better than anyone how easy it is for plans to go awry. But they were together, sharing company and a drink, even if it was unconventional.

A month later, when White Day rolled around, Mei was looking over meterological happening when Hanzo strolled into the lab, carrying a large mug brimming with white. He planted the mug next to Mei, far enough so it wouldn't get knocked over, then planted a kiss on her temple.

"Happy White Day, my heart." He said. Mei turned to face him, then saw the mug.

"Did you bring me hot chocolate?" It had to be, what else would be topped with whipped cream, although she could see the spattering of mini marshmallows in it.

" _Hai_. I thought it fitting after your pleasant gift on Valentine's."

"I gave you truffles which fell into warm milk."

"And they made a very nice hot chocoate, so I return the favor."

"How sweet!" She stepped aside and took a sip, then had to put the mug down. Hanzo noted the look on her face.

"Is something wrong? I had gotten the recipe from Mercy-san, she insisted this was the best."

"No, it's fine, and that explains a lot. The chocolate's fine, Hanzo, it's just very rich. I won't be able to drink it in one sitting...not alone." Hanzo gave her a smile.

"Well...it is supposed to be the best...but yours was just as good."


End file.
